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CNN Live Sunday
Bush Emphasizes It Is Time for Baghdad to Disarm
Aired February 09, 2003 - 17:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now from President Bush on down, U.S. officials don't seem very impressed with what Baghdad or the European powers have been up to this weekend.
President Bush today reemphasized that this is not the time for more talk, but the time for Baghdad to be disarmed.
Here's CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne, any reaction to President Putin and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's meeting today?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, in terms of Iraqi officials, they really believe that this is just the type of posturing that they would expect in the eleventh hour.
Administration officials, quite frankly, are concerned that international support for forcibly disarming Saddam Hussein will erode. That is why they are stressing that the promise of cooperation from Saddam Hussein is meaningless.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): At an annual Republican retreat, a message from President Bush to Saddam Hussein -- too little, too late.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He wants the world to think that hide and seek is a game that we should play, and it's over.
MALVEAUX: Iraq's renewed offer to more fully cooperate with weapons inspectors dismissed out of hand.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: There is nothing in Resolution 1441 that talks about making a little bit of progress. There is nothing in 1441 that allows the Iraqis to sit there and meter out a little bit of cooperation here, a little bit of cooperation there, in order to deceive the world and to make the world think that they're trying to cooperate.
MALVEAUX: Another slap to the White House, reports of a possible plan by France and Germany to push for tougher inspections inside Iraq. A senior administration official said the mission of inspectors is not to negotiate but to verify Saddam Hussein is disarming.
U.S. officials now worry Security Council members are simply delaying, making the tough decision whether going to war is necessary.
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Everyone who voted for that resolution last November knew that this moment might come, and this is not the time to step back and ignore the fact that that moment is now upon us.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We should not be treating the Security Council of the United Nations as though it's some kind of a stumbling block or a roadblock. We ought to look at that as an asset, a way to rally world opinion to try to get rid of the threat.
MALVEAUX: But Powell says war with Iraq can still avoided. Americans don't agree.
A new CNN/"TIME" poll say most believe it's inevitable, from 63 percent in January to 75 percent now.
But even so, most Americans don't believe Iraq poses an immediate threat to the U.S. Only 39 percent say yes, but 60 percent say no.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And of course, Carol, continued diplomatic pressure on Russia, as well as Germany, the administration saying that it will not make a decision until after U.N. weapons inspectors report back to the U.N. Security Council on Friday -- Carol.
LIN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux and a very snowy White House today. Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 9, 2003 - 17:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now from President Bush on down, U.S. officials don't seem very impressed with what Baghdad or the European powers have been up to this weekend.
President Bush today reemphasized that this is not the time for more talk, but the time for Baghdad to be disarmed.
Here's CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne, any reaction to President Putin and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's meeting today?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, in terms of Iraqi officials, they really believe that this is just the type of posturing that they would expect in the eleventh hour.
Administration officials, quite frankly, are concerned that international support for forcibly disarming Saddam Hussein will erode. That is why they are stressing that the promise of cooperation from Saddam Hussein is meaningless.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): At an annual Republican retreat, a message from President Bush to Saddam Hussein -- too little, too late.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He wants the world to think that hide and seek is a game that we should play, and it's over.
MALVEAUX: Iraq's renewed offer to more fully cooperate with weapons inspectors dismissed out of hand.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: There is nothing in Resolution 1441 that talks about making a little bit of progress. There is nothing in 1441 that allows the Iraqis to sit there and meter out a little bit of cooperation here, a little bit of cooperation there, in order to deceive the world and to make the world think that they're trying to cooperate.
MALVEAUX: Another slap to the White House, reports of a possible plan by France and Germany to push for tougher inspections inside Iraq. A senior administration official said the mission of inspectors is not to negotiate but to verify Saddam Hussein is disarming.
U.S. officials now worry Security Council members are simply delaying, making the tough decision whether going to war is necessary.
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Everyone who voted for that resolution last November knew that this moment might come, and this is not the time to step back and ignore the fact that that moment is now upon us.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We should not be treating the Security Council of the United Nations as though it's some kind of a stumbling block or a roadblock. We ought to look at that as an asset, a way to rally world opinion to try to get rid of the threat.
MALVEAUX: But Powell says war with Iraq can still avoided. Americans don't agree.
A new CNN/"TIME" poll say most believe it's inevitable, from 63 percent in January to 75 percent now.
But even so, most Americans don't believe Iraq poses an immediate threat to the U.S. Only 39 percent say yes, but 60 percent say no.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And of course, Carol, continued diplomatic pressure on Russia, as well as Germany, the administration saying that it will not make a decision until after U.N. weapons inspectors report back to the U.N. Security Council on Friday -- Carol.
LIN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux and a very snowy White House today. Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
